Something Sweet
by Composer of Discord
Summary: Justice League: Gods and Monsters verse: A broken coffee machine forces Kirk to find a new source of caffeine for his evening pick-me up. One barista is all too happy to oblige. (A coffee shop AU gift for a friend, Hernan Guerra/Kirk Langstrom)


**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured in this fic or else everyone would be openly gay. Trust me.**

 _A/N: This was written for my friend, scumashslanderson. If you have not seen their work on tumblr, I highly recommend you do check it out. Their Gods and Monsters art is beautiful. With that being said, I hope you enjoy._

* * *

Something Sweet

Kirk wasn't one to frequent coffee shops. He wasn't a sociable person, nor was he very picky when it came to the copious amounts of caffeine he consumed. As long as it was something caffeinated, he was fine. That was, until someone broke the coffee machine in the breakroom. Since then, Kirk has been forced to find a new source for his evening pick-me-up which brought him to this one quaint little nook of a coffee shop on what would otherwise be a little shady street of Gotham.

With only a few occupants around, it was pleasantly still, save for the clacking sounds of a keyboard, or the furious scratching of a pen against spare napkins. Then there were those fortunate souls curled up on leather armchairs with a lengthy novel at hand, and a steaming hot pot of tea not too far out of reach.

Kirk felt right at home here.

With his lab notes sprawled across the table, and data sheets clogging up his computer screen, he felt like no one there looked at him. No one spared him a single glance which made him feel like he could relax instantly and just be himself. Or so he thought…

There was a barista there. He was tall, and Kirk would admit, handsome. His skin was dark like the coffee beans he crushed daily. Compared to Kirk's sun-deprived-pale skin, his was emblazoned by Apollo himself. His black, short sleeved shirt bared muscular arms as the dark texture visibly stretched across broad shoulders and a… Kirk had to admit as well, a broad chest. But the most captivating thing of all, the one thing that left Kirk speechless and quite tongue tied whenever the man greeted him with a warm smile and a "Hola, senor", were those deep blue eyes. He knew it was cheesy to compare them to a cloudless blue sky, but it was the first thing Kirk could think of. After all, with those eyes bundled with everything else about the man, it was hard not to draw comparisons of every male protagonists on every trashy romantic cover there ever was. Except for the fact that this man was anything but fictional, and the way he looked at Kirk… He should be.

It was clear the barista was popular with the ladies by the small eruption of giggles they'd make behind their coffee cups. The cacophony of less than genuine laughter clashed with what would otherwise be a soothing environment, and though Kirk tried not to look, the scene was just as much of a nuisance as the noise. However, every time Kirk did dare to glance over at the small gaggle of girls surrounding the barista, he found those blue eyes already looking his way – not at Kirk for surely he couldn't be looking directly at him, but possibly someone behind him. The fact that there wasn't anyone behind him was beside the point. No, Kirk was certain of this, and yet he couldn't help but feel his heart beat stutter, nor the sudden rush of warmth crawl up the collar of his neck to the tips of his ears.

 _'Hold on, Kirk.'_ He silently berated himself as he imagined his best friend, Will, would tell him. He would say that he's over thinking things again. That no one is looking, so relax.

 _'Yes,_ ' Kirk thought, _'Relax.'_

However, Kirk could not help but chance a glance up at the barista again, and thankfully the barista wasn't looking back this time. Instead he was clearing tables and wiping them down. Kirk released a long sigh. He was relieved, or at least he thought he was, or at least he should be. And yet some other part of him, the one he tried to silence had wished – hoped – that maybe the barista was looking… Kirk swiftly swallowed that selfish side of him, and got back to work. He reminded himself there was little time to be wasted over wondering about a barista no matter how good looking he might be. He had come here for coffee to help with his work, not to hinder it. And so, Kirk delved back into making sense of the endless data before him instead of what his heart was doing within his chest.

Sadly, the concept of time always had a way of slipping from Kirk's fingers as he was sent crashing back down to earth by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, senor." A sudden voice called out to him, "I hate to wake you, but we are closing now."

 _'Closing? Closing what—'_ Kirk shot up, sending papers flying in his wake as he looked around. Indeed, all the chairs were up, the lights dimmed, and the place completely deserted save for himself and the… Kirk's weary eyes widened in surprise. There stood the barista he had been looking at earlier. The thought of his earlier actions made his blood rush to his cheeks in shame, and at the same time embarrassed for being caught sleeping.

With downcast eyes, Kirk was about to apologize when the words were suddenly halted by the amused chuckle that rumbled within the other. Kirk looked up utterly confused.

"Lo siento, I'm sorry if I startled you." The man bent down to start picking up the papers that had flown off moments before. Seeing this urged Kirk to action as he leapt to pick up his own papers only for their hands to clash admist Kirk's confused frenzy.

"Oh, sorry – I… I didn't—"

Before Kirk could retract his hand, the barista had taken it in his own. His palms, Kirk realized, were impossibly warm while the texture of the skin itself was rough and weathered by what could only be hard work. The sudden discovery sent Kirk's mind reeling in more ways he ever thought possible.

"Your hands are cold." The barista stated with his dark brows furrowed in what Kirk hoped wasn't concern or worry. Although before Kirk could laugh it off, the Barista was rubbing the cold hand in his in an attempt to transfer some warmth before squeezing it gently for good measure.

Kirk took his hand back.

"Thank you for all your help, and I'm very sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." Kirk managed to say without fumbling through his words. The fact that he was not looking at the barista, but instead was scrambling to pick up the rest of his papers probably helped.

When Kirk went to right himself, he was met with another small handful of papers being offered to him by an all too kind barista, and an all too warm smile.

"It was no trouble at all." The barista assured him, "However, it is rather late. Will you be able to make it home alright?"

Kirk blinked. Would he be okay to walk home? That was a question Kirk never heard before. Well he had, just not directed at him.

The shock was more than evident in Kirk's features which produced another bemused laugh from the man. "Alright, I'll walk you home then."

"Oh, please, you don't have to." Kirk felt like he had leapt from his skin at the speed of which he replied, but really he couldn't let this man do anything more than he already had for him. It was too much.

And yet, despite Kirk's pleading look, the barista only returned it with an amused expression of his own before simply stating, "I know."

Just like that, two simple words, and Kirk found himself walking back home side-by-side with the last man he ever thought he would. The barista had introduced himself as Hernan, and Kirk took a moment to commit the name to memory. He was terrible at names, but usually that wasn't too big of a problem. Kirk didn't run into many people he needed to remember the name of, and even if he did, those people never stayed around for long.

However, with Hernan – well Kirk didn't imagine the man would stay around for a while, but Kirk felt like he should send the man a thank you card or something before he never stepped another foot into the man's coffee shop again, and having the man's name on the card would be a nice touch.

"May I ask what you do?" Hernan was the first to break the silence between them as Kirk was too wrapped up in his own self-deprecating thoughts to have registered what the man beside him was saying.

"Sorry?"

"Forgive me for being curious, but you always seem to be surrounded by papers and graphs."

"Oh," Kirk paused for a moment to think of the best way to answer before continuing, "Well, I'm a hematopathologists… a scientist who studies blood based diseases."

"Really? What are you working on?"

Kirk let out a small incredulous laugh, "You don't really want to hear it."

The subject would bore most people. Whenever he told his relatives that he went off to become a scientist instead of an auto-repairman, they all just scoffed and grumbled about how they hated science, or that science was pointless and so on. Although, Kirk did appreciate Hernan humoring him, Kirk was also kind enough to not talk his ear off.

"Please," Hernan once again derailed Kirk's train of thought with a soft smile, "Enlighten me."

Kirk blinked – once – twice, as he was more than surprised once again by this man. And once again, Kirk found himself indulging the barista. He wasn't really sure why. He could have just said no, but Kirk wasn't that kind of person. Unfortunately, many people took advantage of that fact when it came to him, but for someone to ask him about his work…? To ask him if he could walk him home, or whether he'd be safe? Kirk had never been asked those things, or in such a genuine manner before.

And so, Kirk found himself talking, talking more than he believed he ever had before. He talked about his research with the vampire bats. He talked about his experiments, both failures and successes. He went on to describe the nature of the current cancer cells he was working on, and how each sample from patient A differed from patient B, C, and so on.

All the while, Hernan listened. He nodded when it was appropriate, smiled and laughed at the stories Kirk told about his bats misbehaving and their odd mannerisms, and even offered a few comments here and there. They weren't major comments like one from fellow scientists, but they showed that Hernan was listening, and Kirk was surprised once more, but this time pleasantly so.

"Well this is… this is me." Kirk had spoken up at last when he realized they were standing outside his stoop.

"Here?" Hernan gave the apartment complex a thoughtful look before returning his gaze towards Kirk. He offered Kirk a small smile, but said nothing more as Kirk tried to decipher what emotion had flickered in those blue eyes when looking over his place?

Was it worry? Concern?

Kirk mentally shook the thought away before he could linger on it for too long, and returned the smile with a lighter one of his own.

"Thank you for walking me home. Again, I'm very sorry for the trouble I caused you."

"Please, you were no trouble at all." Hernan assured. "It was a pleasure to walk you home."

Hernan had outstretched his hand, and although Kirk found the gesture unusual, maybe even a little too formal or business like to end their walk with, Kirk outstretched his hand to shake Hernan's only for Hernan to not shake it but grasp it gently. His thumb ran over Kirk's fingers, warming them from the knuckle to the tip as the man himself raised the cold hand closer to his lips before placing a chaste kiss over the path his thumb had just made.

Kirk froze. His mind jumbled as the warm breath across his knuckles was not helping. And then those blue eyes looked up at Kirk, gauging for a reaction, a response that Kirk just couldn't bring himself to form words in.

What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do other than stand there awkwardly with his hand-held captive by the barista he had been staring at more than once?

Before Kirk could say anything more, the man straightened himself up once more with a smile as warm as his hands that finally let go of his.

"Buenas noches, Kirk."

"Good night, Hernan." Kirk found himself saying despite how tongue tied he was only moments before, but that seemed to be enough or all that he needed to say for those lips curled upward in a prominent smile.

Then, when it seemed they had been standing there long enough for their breaths to fog up the small space between them, the Barista gave one last departing nod and began making his way home. Kirk watched him go, and to his surprise, Hernan looked back once, his smile bright.

 _'Good night.'_ Kirk almost wanted to say again when their eyes met, but he quickly bit down the ridiculous words, and instead found himself returning the smile.

 _'Idiot.'_ He thought, and by the way he fumbled with his keys at the door, he knew he was the idiot. Such an idiot. He really should know better than to stand around in the cold for so long, and then there was Hernan who thought it was perfectly normal to walk in frigid weather without a jacket. They were both fools he supposed.

Both… Kirk quickly shook the thought off as he slipped his coat off, the sleeve having been bunched around his wrists for so long because it was long, longer than he remembered…

He glanced down. The material was black, dark yet incredibly warm, and too big for Kirk's own frame. It wasn't his.

 _'Shoot.'_

* * *

"Morning, what can I get for you?" The woman's voice was jovial and her smile welcoming, though her cobalt blue eyes narrowing on the dark jacket Kirk held close to his chest made him feel less than welcomed. After all, he planned to write a nice thank you card, leave it, and then never return to the store. Now he had to drop off a card and a jacket, then never return.

"I came to return this for Hernan." Kirk laid the jacket down on the counter between them as if it were a piece offering or at least he hoped his expression conveyed his plea to not ask how he acquired it.

"Oh, Mr. Guerra was it? Only his lovers call him Hernan."

Kirk froze.

"Hm," the woman hummed with a bemused look, but took the coat nonetheless, "I'll tell him you stopped by Mr…?"

Kirk shook his head, feeling like he was grasping at straws in trying to find a way to explain she had it all wrong. "I'm sorry, but I'm not—"

"Kirk."

His stomach dropped. "Hernan…"

"Buenos días, you're early. Normally you come in the evening."

"Yes, well I came to drop off your jacket." _'Or at least I hope it's your jacket.'_

"Yes, your jacket, Mr. Guerra." The woman handed the jacket over to its rightful owner. "I'll leave you to service your lover yourself."

"Thank you, Bekka." Hernan didn't seem to bat an eye at the playful remark while Kirk's own eyes widened in surprise.

When Kirk didn't think his luck could get any worse, Hernan seemed to feel the folds of his jacket, where the card rested.

"Oh, what's this?"

"That's just… you don't have to open it now." Kirk averted his gaze down at the counter, "It's a letter of thanks… I promise I won't fall asleep in your café again."

Kirk almost winced as he waited to hear the other laugh at his apparent embarrassment, but it never came. Instead it was silent, save for the woman, Bekka, greeting a costumer. Her voice drew Kirk's gaze from the counter before he mustered the courage to find Hernan.

To his astonishment, the man was reading his card, seeming to not heed Kirk's words at all. Although, instead of laughing, the barista only smiled.

"Thank you for the card." He folded it once more, "And I also don't mind you falling asleep."

"Well it's the least I could do for your troubles, and I promise I won't."

"So I should look forward to seeing you again this evening?"

Kirk wanted to say no, or at least that was the plan, but the way Hernan looked at him with expectant blue eyes, Kirk found himself nodding despite himself. "Yes, I'll see you later."

"Perfecto, I have something I'd like for you to try."

However, before Hernan could walk away, Kirk stopped him, "Hernan, I'm sorry, but I have to go. I only stopped by to drop off your jacket."

"Oh, I'll wrap it up for you to go then. It won't take long, I promise." Before Kirk could protest further, Hernan had disappeared to the back room. Kirk tried not to look at Bekka as he waited patiently for Hernan's return, although her cobalt eyes were hard to ignore when directly pointed at you. There was no mistaking the target of her gaze.

"Here we are." Hernan returned with a pastry box. "Careful, they're still a little warm, but I hope you like them. Good luck in your lab, and say hello to Bruce and Clark for me."

"You remembered?" Kirk smiled at the mention of his bats. "Thank you. I'll see you in the evening, Hernan."

"Adiós, Kirk." Hernan smiled and waved Kirk goodbye. True to his word, the box was warm which made Kirk wonder what was in it. Whatever it was, it smelled divine, but he willed himself not to open it. He took his chances by leaving It in the breakroom hoping that his name on the box would be enough to ward off any prying fingers. His name, which Hernan himself wrote in sharpie…

 _'Stop it, Kirk. You have work to do.'_ Kirk chastised himself after moments of realizing he had been staring at the box for longer than necessary. Work. Yes, that is what he came to do, and yet, when he looked over at his two bats Hernan remembered the names to, there was Kirk's mind once again on the barista.

"Hey, Kirk!"

"Will," Kirk turned to greet his friend.

"You know they fixed the coffee machine in the breakroom finally?"

"Did they?" Had it been a week ago, the news would have cheered Kirk up, but now…

Oblivious to his friend's dilemma, Will came to sit across from Kirk's work bench, licking the crumbs off his lips before he'd get started on his own work which reminded him, "Hey, those cookies you brought were really good. Did you make them?"

"Cookies?"

"Yeah, they were in a big red box and you scribbled your name on it."

"Will, you weren't supposed to open those."

"What? I thought friends share food. Were they a gift?"

Kirk paused… were they?

"I thought it was you because it had bats in hearts drawn on them." Will outlined a heart in the air with his finger in further demonstration, but was only met with a light incredulous chuckle from Kirk.

"Really? Bats in hearts?"

"Yeah, bats in hearts, and bats, they're sort of your thing." Will teased, "Or do you have a different thing going on?"

"Nothing is going on." Kirk insisted, but Will observed the smile that never left Kirk's face since he mentioned bats in hearts.

"That's it," Will set his gloves down to pull out his phone, "I'm telling Tina."

"What? Why?" Kirk finally looked up from his work only to meet an accusatory finger pointed straight at him.

"Hah! So there is something after all. You have a thing with a person who bakes you bat goods. Now I have to tell Tina."

"There isn't anything to tell her."

"Nope, I'm sorry my friend, but my wife and I don't keep secrets."

"Will." Kirk weakly pleaded, but Will was already out the room most likely calling Tina over a trivial thing, a nonexistent thing. There was nothing between him and Hernan. Nothing. And yet the man made him cookies with bats on them…

Kirk looked over at his two bats looking right back at him. One with a clearly unimpressed look, and the other with what looked like a knowing smile.

Kirk huffed. "There's nothing."

The bats continued to stare.

"There isn't." Kirk continued to tell them, or more so himself. Even when he finally took a peek into the box during lunch time, he told himself the cookies with little bats in hearts meant nothing. They couldn't – couldn't possibly mean anything.

He took a bite.

They were delicious.

* * *

"Buenas tardes, Kirk." Hernan greeted him from the counter. "How were the cookies?"

"They were very good, thank you." _'Very, very good.'_ "How much were—"

"Oh no," Hernan interjected when he saw Kirk reach into his pockets. "They were a gift. I'm glad you liked them."

 _'So they were a gift…'_ Kirk tried to shake Will's snickering laugh of 'I told you so' out of his head.

"Which reminds me, I have something else I'd like for you to try before you order your usual. I'll bring it to your table." Hernan insisted, and the smile he gave Kirk was a hard one to say no to, so Kirk relented and gave his thanks.

By the time Kirk had his notes out, a cup of coffee was placed in front of him with a bat outlined in the foam.

"This should help keep you up."

Kirk blinked. "Is that a cappuccino?"

"Latte. Cappuccinos are stronger, unless you'd like something stronger?"

"No, this is fine thank you." Kirk eyed the bat design as he wondered between the cookies and now the latte, should he be regretting telling Hernan he liked bats? Nonetheless, under Hernan's expectant gaze, Kirk took a sip.

The coffee was creamy, sugarier than what Kirk was used to, but not unpleasantly so. The taste was akin to the sugar cookies Kirk had earlier, sweet but with a spice Kirk couldn't place his finger on.

"Do you like it?" Hernan asked after a moment of watching Kirk savor the drink.

"It's… very sweet."

"Too sweet?"

Kirk hid his smile behind the rim of his cup, "No, just right."

Kirk averted his gaze down towards the bat that still held its shape in the foam, only to feel a thumb brush up against the side of his lip. Light blue eyes followed the retreating finger to watch Hernan suck the foam off it.

"Good."

Kirk swallowed.

"Well, I will let you get back to your papers, Kirk. Let me know if you should need anything else." Hernan gave Kirk a departing smile before leaving to take his place behind the counter once more. Kirk watched him go. Only until Hernan passed Bekka did Kirk realize the woman was eyeing him with a smirk tugging upon her rosy lips.

He averted his gaze. Nothing. There was nothing, Kirk had to remind himself. However, even with the coffee machine in the breakroom fixed, Kirk continued to frequent the shop with Hernan asking him to try new drinks and pastries he had made with little bats frosted or etched on everything.

Still, there was nothing. Kirk refused to believe so. Even with all the looks Bekka and his bats gave him, the ever-dwindling number of girls flocking towards Hernan, and even the teasing he received from both Will and Tina, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

But then he has been wrong before. More times than he liked to count, especially this time when he found the cold prickling the tip of his nose and so he curled further into himself and buried it in something smooth, soft. Inhaling deeply, he smelled coffee beans, flour, sugar, and…

Kirk's eyes wearily cracked open to see a gentle smile and blue eyes looking right back at him.

"Good, you're up."

 _'I-I'm…'_ Kirk's eyes widened in surprise as he realized he must have fallen asleep again. "I'm sorry! I… I didn't realize I…" Kirk tried to get his bearings, but his feet weren't even touching the ground. Instead strong arms held him up as his own arms encircled Hernan's neck. He was being carried. Hernan was carrying him.

"Should I put you down?" Hernan asked as if reading the other's thoughts.

"Please."

Kirk was set down carefully. Once his feet were back on the ground, he tried to collect where they were. They were at his front door.

"You carried me the entire way?"

"I couldn't wake you." Hernan replied, although Kirk had to question whether he even tried to wake him by the amused smile that seemed permanently fixed upon the guilty man's features.

Nonetheless… "I'm sorry. I'm not usually a heavy sleeper."

"You were tired." The amused smile lost its mirth and turned into one akin to fondness.

"I'm still very sorry. I promise it won't happen again. I… must have lost track of time."

"It's quite alright. I like walking you home, or carrying you home." Hernan amended.

"Even after all the sweets you've been giving me? That must have not been easy." Kirk chuckled lightly in self-deprecation though the laughter shortly fell way to self-consciousness.

"I like giving you sweets too." Hernan replied easily, "If only to see you smile."

Kirk swiftly glanced up at Hernan to see his smile had not changed, but remained softly curled with affection. And those blue eyes…. The one Kirk immediately fell for were looking right at him. Not at some nonexistent person behind him, but straight at him.

Kirk didn't know what struck him, but like lightening to a tree something within him surged to lean up and cover the wicked smile with his own lips. He kissed him, leapt with eyes closed, and heart open, he was kissing him.

 _'Kissing him…'_ Kirk immediately pulled away. "I'm sorry! I don't kn—"

Kirk found himself cut off by two warm hands cupping his cheeks to draw him back though the expectant kiss never came. Instead Kirk stared up into two blue eyes waiting for permission.

Kirk closed the distance in answer to the unsaid question.

The lips were soft against his, and hands warm against his face. He could feel the corners of the man's lips curl against his in a resilient smile as if no matter how many times Kirk kissed him, he'd never be able to kiss away the man's kind smile.

 _'So this is something.'_ Kirk thought. _'So this is what something feels like.'_

Kirk was the first to break away, although the man's smile was infectious even he caught it. Or perhaps it was the light scratching of Hernan's beard that made him laugh. Nonetheless, that didn't stop Hernan from pressing another chaste kiss upon the corner of Kirk's lips for good measure or more so like he couldn't get enough of him.

"Okay?" Hernan asked, his forehead pressed against Kirk's.

"It was… sweet."

Hernan's smile widened. "Too sweet?"

"No, just right."

"Good."

Kirk's smile mirrored that of Hernan's before he leaned up to kiss Hernan again knowing for sure that this wasn't nothing. It was something. It was something sweet.

The End

 _A/N: I hope you enjoyed this fic. Thank you for reading if you've gotten this far, and take care!_


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